It was never really a conscious choice to become a full-time bboy, Really because when I first started I just did it because I liked to and it was fun. While I still do have fun while doing it, It really was when i started to take my craft seriously as far as skills is concerned that one could say I was bboying full-time. This is because I try my best to train atleast 5-6 days out of the week so one could say I’m a full time bboy even though I dont depend on it in order to make a living. Because when that is the case I feel that ones love for the dance will start to fade away because your forcing yourself to dance for money and not letting it happen organically.

How has your decision impacted your relationship with your family and friends?

The impact of my bboying has impacted my friends and family in a couple of ways. As far as my family is concerned,through out the years I haven’t been able to spend as much time with them as probably most people would because ofpracticing so much on top of going to school, Although what’s dope about this is that they know the reason why I’m not able to be around so much is because I’m following my passion and so I get their support regardless. One of my best memories regarding this is unexpectedly having my whole family (cousins, aunts, uncles, grandma, etc) waiting in the airport with balloons to congratulate me and my crew members after winning the Mighty 4 event in San Francisco, CA.

Can you describe the impact of being a full-time bboy in your life?

Bboying in general has had such a positive impact on my life. I’m 20 years old now and have been doing it since I was an early teenager so I’ve been molding and re-inventing myself in terms of it from a time when most people are really going through the motions to find themselves to this very day. Through out the years bboying has introducedme to alot of things non-dancing related that has helped me to open my mind to alot of different ways of looking at life and certain interesting people (in particular my crew-mates) who have influenced me in a number of different ways. The dedication that I’ve grown to have for it has helped me to stay busy and keep me out of trouble while alot of other people around where I live who dont really have a passion to work towards get lost in the shuffle of just staying in the streets for the most part, For that I’m extremely grateful.

Can you tell us some of the challenges that you faced or had to overcome as a bboy?

One of the biggest challenges I’ve had to face is the ongoing struggle that I have to balance out my school and dancing. Its really difficult to maintain a certain skill level while going to school full-time but part of my legacy that i would like to leave behind as a bboy is that it IS possible to be dope and still do well in school.
Its really important to realize this because the state that bboying is in now makes it really hard for dancers
that actually are full-time to live without struggling in the longrun.

What do you think of the people who only view bboying as a hobby?

Its cool to have bboying as a hobby because the potential for it to become something more than that is always there. Hip-hop in general is meant for every one to be apart of, and so even it is just a hobby one is still within the realm of Hip-Hop which is good because it leads to other things as well.

How do you motivate yourself as a bboy?

For me. Motivation comes from the journey of just constantly getting better.. Seeing what hard work can do up to this point makes one wonder just how far it can actually go? And while certain slumps do come at times I find its important to realize that thats natural. Sometimes one just has to step back in order to refresh the mind for a bit and remind yourself why you started bboying in the first place.

What is the most important thing do you think people should know about you?

That I’m just a human being constantly learning and elevating myself within the realm of life in general, not
separating it into just bboying or school or whatever else one may have in mind so that I may take in what it is to be a human in this lifetime as a WHOLE and not just one aspect of it.

What advice can you give for people that are starting out in the bboy community?

For people that are just starting out I would say to not just practice but TRAIN hard as well, and if it does
get to a point that you would like to do as much with this dance as you can, just remember to take everything that you do the next level by innovating any kind of inspiration you get, not just being as good as the person you look up to but BETTER.